CAM PENNER – TO BUILD A FIRE

2013 – Self Released

On first listen to the opening track, it’s sound was dark, but a seemingly pointless brass saturated ‘instrumental.’ Certainly a decent piece of music but didn’t bode well for what I imagined would follow. How wrong can you be?! It was only with further listens that it seemed perhaps the purpose was actually to wash away what else you may have been listening to, wipe the slate clean and draw you into the strange world that Cam Penner and co producer Jon Wood have contructed. Boy did it work! It seems on this album that the talented Cam inhabits an area not too distanly removed from artists such as Charlie Parr and Otis Gibbs, certainly on several songs, and not just because of the enviable beard! There is at times a strange otherworldly eeriness that his previous albums lacked (or certainly the few that I have heard), even on occasions seeming to be improvisational, keeping the listener slightly off balance regardless of how many times the album has been listened to. It is texturally impossible to compare to anyone else and certainly not his previous work. Almost as if he has not only had a total lifestyle change but also a comlete deconstruction of his musical thought processes followed by a strange and almost complete reconstruction of his new musical values. The old Cam is still just about discernible but appears to have redeveloped into something totally unique, even including a tremendous bluesy/hillbilly piece of rap! The disc is more bluesy than previous, at time having an almost primeval atmosphere and his influences are difficult to work out but artists that have come to mind whilst listening to various tracks are the likes of Tom Waits, Reverend Peyton, Charlie Parr, Otis Gibbs, often at times stirring up the ghosts of long gone bluesmen and even the old time ‘hillbillies’ such is it’s raw power. All songs were written by Cam Penner except for Rivers Forgotten which was a co write with producer Jon Wood, a talented musician himself, who is always happy to step away from the path of predictability. It would seem that Cam choosing him as producer signaled a change to what we have come to expect from him. With repeated listening sessions it does start to emerge that whilst Cam has always been immersed in the more folksy side of roots music, this current album is not too far removed from that point, but has a much more fundamental and experimental feel on these songs that are incredibly dark and raw in sound, until that is, you take in some of the lyrical content, when a huge contrast emerges with the songs being full of love and optimism. If ever there was a case of darkness and light in music this is it! Following the aforementioned opening track is the albums title song To Build A Fire and what an incredible experience this song is. It starts with a drone, drum and quirky slightly distorted guitar followed by Cam’s otherworldly vocal. A strange eerily atmospheric song that has the feel of a young Tom Waits in as much as it is totally original in concept with the clanging guitar distortion gradually building the dark atmosphere and tension. Contrast this song with the lyrically and melodically mellow following song This Could Be Your Anthem with it’s gentle acoustic guitar start joined by Cam’s atmospheric vocal and a nicely chiming guitar sound that is eventually supplemented by a lovely steel guitar. This in turn is followed by even more mellow beauty in Rivers Forgotten, with it’s gentle guitar and Cam’s evocative vocal, gradually building musically and dramatically with a chiming electric and steel guitar sound. No Consequence returns us to some of the clanging tension with a heavy, if melodic bluesy electric guitar sound with some strange percussion and Cam’s dark vocal adding to the primeval otherworldly stew that gradually builds to it’s climax. Finally Memphis provides a further contrast with a nice funky drum and bass beat on a swampy piece of ‘rap’ that lopes along at an easy going mid tempo with some excellent guitar and banjo sounds providing even more atmosphere. I haven’t yet heard all of Cams albums but this, compared to those I have heard, is a massive improvement and could not only turn out to be career defining but also perhaps set a new path for him to follow. An extraordinarily talented singer sonwriter in an indefinable ‘rootsy’ genre that blends so many disparate elements into something highly original.